How to Get a Flatter Stomach: A 3-Step Plan

There are many factors that determine a person’s physique. Diet, exercise, and other lifestyle choices play a significant role, but so do factors that are more difficult to change. Genetic makeup, age, and hormonal levels all contribute to weight gain and where that weight is stored.

1. Rev Up The Metabolism

Wouldn’t it be great if there were magic exercises that could target just our “trouble” areas? Unfortunately our bodies don’t work that way. We all store fat in different places and at different rates. In order to target tummy fat we must aim to reduce our total body fat, not just hone in on the midsection.

Metabolism is the rate at which the body use energy, therefore increasing metabolism will lead to increased fat-loss. Many studies have shown that a great metabolism booster is resistance training (even better than cardio exercise). Whether it be weight training at a gym or doing home workouts using no equipment at all, resistance training builds lean muscle and increases the body’s ability to shed fat.

2. Avoid Abdominal Exercise Ruts

Ask 10 people which exercise will best tone the tummy and 9 will likely mention a sit-up or crunch. While this traditional abdominal exercise may offer some benefits, too often it is seen as a complete stomach workout which is far from the truth. Instead, here are 3 exercises that can inject life into an boring ab workout and can yield better results than even thousands of sit-ups.

3. Eat For Change

Maybe the best bet for fighting belly fat is through a healthy diet. Oftentimes there are just a few small diet changes that that can lead to a smaller waist line.

Eat Early – Consuming calories earlier in the day gives the body time to use those calories as fuel instead of storing them as fat.

Eat Often – Small meals can be processed easily by the body and therefore don’t store as fat like large meals do. Try eating 6 small meals throughout the day to prevent unnecessary fat-storage.

Eat Green – “Greens” (i.e. veggies) are nutrient-dense foods that satisfy the body’s craving for nutrition. Contrast this with processed foods like cereal, baked goods, and even most bread that are nutrient-deficient and therefore satisfy hunger for only short periods of time.

There is much that can be done to achieve a flatter stomach. Metabolism-boosting workouts, effective core exercises, and lean eating are all a great place to start!

Dave Smith is a personal trainer who loves helping people exercise effectively and efficiently. Dave teaches people how to maximize their fitness results using body weight exercises that can be done anywhere, anytime. You can learn more about Dave’s fitness philosophies and training methods at www.makeyourbodywork.com (maybe even try out a workout while you’re there!)

Comments

Great, great post! If I may, I’d like to add to the list: stress management! This is key–stress hormones do some pretty unfriendly things to our bodies, and accumulating belly fat is one of those things. (No fair, right?)